Klinsmann: Decision to drop Donovan was "based on today"

After calling it the “toughest coaching decision” in his career, U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann faced the press following his decision to leave Landon Donovan off his final 23-man roster for Brazil.

With bubble players such as DeAndre Yedlin, John Brooks, and Brad Davis all making the U.S. squad, there was some thought that the squad selections might have been motivated by Klinsmann considering the future, and understanding that the task at hand this summer against Ghana, Portugal, and Germany might be too big.

Klinsmann however said that his choice to leave Donovan as a “standby” player was based on what he was seeing in the present time, and not about what Donovan had done for the USMNT in the past.

“No, this (decision) is based on today,” Klinsmann said at a press conference on Friday at noon. “This is based on what hopefully goes well in the next seven to eight weeks. It had nothing to do with my contract or the perspective that those young players have for the long run. It is our strong feeling that these guys are ready for a World Cup, for coming in any time and doing well.”

There was plenty of foreshadowing in the past two months, including listing the all-time leading USMNT goalscorer as a forward on the preliminary 30-man roster and also leaving him out of the starting lineup in the 2-2 friendly draw with Mexico in April.

Klinsmann also brushed off suggestions that he selected Julian Green over Donovan, saying that “there was never a comparison” between those two players. In the end, Klinsmann reiterated that he felt there were other players who were in some aspects “a little step ahead” of Donovan right now.

“It’s a very tight decision on all of those seven,” Klinsmann said of the players who didn’t make the 23-man roster. “That’s why we brought 30 (to camp) because it is so tight in all the slots all over the field. The way you break it down as coaches is strengths and weaknesses, the bigger puzzle, the entire team, and many different points, and I told every player that it’s not the comparison between what you bring to the table and the other one brings to the table. You as a coach have to make a decision based on what you want to execute in Brazil, what you want to see, how you want to build those components into the entire group.”

“I felt, we coaches felt, the guys that we chose are a little step ahead of Landon in certain areas.”

Klinsmann declined to go into specifics on which areas he found Donovan lacking. Donovan’s own admission on the first episode of ESPN’s “Inside U.S. Soccer” that he can’t train 12 days in a row and have a great day of training each day provides an insight into why Klinsmann may have left Donovan off the roster.

The U.S. manager said that he “admired” the way Donovan took the news, and was glad to hear that Donovan would be on-call in case there is an injury to someone on the 23-man roster.

“He took it highly professionally, with amazing composure,” Klinsmann said. “Obviously it’s a big disappointment, that’s expected, and he said that, that he doesn’t understand it, he thinks he should have been in the 23, which is well taken. I want a player to speak up and say that as well. I tried to lay out a couple of reasons, and those are technical parts and I’m not going into those details right now.”

“I just told him I hope for his understanding and I hope that he stands by us and if something happens tomorrow, then I can call him and he’s back right away. He said and he assured that 24/7 he’s at our disposal, when the call comes he’s ready to go, but obviously he also expressed his disappointment, but in a very professional way, and I admire that a lot.”

Even though he was left off the World Cup squad, Klinsmann hopes that Donovan will still represent the U.S. in the future on the field.

“I have the strong hope that he absolutely continues after (the World Cup),” Klinsmann said. “That is our vision, absolutely, that Landon continues his national team career.”

——–

What do you think of these comments? Do you agree with Klinsmann’s reasons for making his decision? Would you have kept Donovan even if he wasn’t at 100 percent?

Look, As soon as we go 0-3 with less than 2 goals at the world cup, Jurgen will move on in disgrace. The next coach will call in Landon to give him a few more run-outs and to keep the door open if we need him for Gold Cup or that Super-America Cup thing.

Contract(s) do not mean a thing in coaching decisions. JK serves at the the discretion of Sunni Gulati and the rest of the USSF board. If JK and the USMNT go 3 and out, or fail to make it out of group, the USSF will have a rethink its position and could relieve JK of his position as coach BUT retain him as, say, a technical director.

There is no doubt that favoritism and some parochialism has raised it’s ugly head. A German coach bring in a virtually uncapped young German player in favor of the all-time decorated and most gifted US soccer player in US soccer history,and the coached response was the US player “didn’t measure up” is comical as it is sad.

Landon will never play for the USMNT team again. Maybe he would if JK wasn’t the coach, but he’s going to be no matter how poorly the team performs at the world cup.

And I actually don’t think they will perform badly. But I think even with 3 huge losses, he’d stay on. Which makes sense if you really think this guy is doing wonderful things for US Soccer. I personally don’t but those in charge obviously do.

Slow, slow, slow. I know you have your mind made up (about everything) but are you sure that Klinsmann will be the head-coach of the USMNT in, forget about the 2018 world cup but even in, the 2016 Copa?

Don’t you see anything about what has happened since March of this year? How about we wait and see what happens.

I’m sure he will. If they weren’t committed to keeping JK regardless of what happens, they wouldn’t have extended him.

I thought at the time it was a foolish thing to do. And I’m fairly sure it gave Klinsmann the freedom to remove Vazquez and realign the coaching team. Also the room to leave Goodson and Donovan off the roster. He can afford to experiment with the team in the World Cup because he sees 2018 as the *peak* run for this team. Not 2014. And he’ll be there for both.

I doubt the US will put a B squad through the Gold Cup again. If the US wins, they clinch a Confed Cup berth in Russia 2017. If the US loses, there will be a play-off with the winner. Too much at stake to put in a “B” squad.

Double post. I know that I said I wouldn’t post here again until after the friendlies, but I can’t resist.

Don’t you people remember a single thing I said? The deal was struck in mid-Feb. and Klinsi (with U.S.Soccer) agreed. Julian would declare and some coaching changes would be made. So, Martin Vaszuez, Klinsi’s long time yes man was sacked. Of course, Klinsi didn’t like this. He is an egotist for sure, so he is really po ed now, and so is his son. Then Klinsi said he would make up “his” mind after the 2 June friendly.

Well that didn’t happen. All I want to say now is that Klinsi is no longer in total control, of the training, the players, or anything. And I can only say I am so happy, we have a chance in Brazil.

Oh yeah, when I left the comment boards here so did The Garrincha. The person posting as him today is an impostor.

There’s 3 matches and how many times have you seen a team go 3 matches without an injury? I understand these matches aren’t the end of the world if we lose but players are now competing for playing time and starting slots. There’s still a shot he makes it if one of our boys get a hard knock.

I believe the teams are “frozen” within 48 hours of the fist WC game, and thereafter no more roster changes can be made. But until that time the USMNT can make changes and could actually add Landon Donovan to the team, if a midfielder,winger or forward get injured. That is why you will not see LD make disparaging remarks about JK until then.

I know this has been mentioned in jest, but in truth it really should happen: Someone (preferably Julian Green) should *get* injured. Donovan easily slots in for similar positions in the 23, Green still gets to go and experience the world cup, and Klinnsman makes up for his incredibly bone-headed decision without having to admit it.

Donovan’s own admission on episode one of ESPN’s Inside U.S. Soccer series that he can’t train 12 days in a row and have a great day of training each day provides an insight into why Klinsmann may have left Donovan off the roster.

=====

Combined with the fact that he plays forward now or directly behind the forwards is what ended things for him. He’s not in the best shape or form.

He was competing against Dempsey, Atlidore, Wondo, Boyd, and Johannson. Johannson offers what Donovan once offered off the bench as a young player–speed and taking someone on. Boyd and Donovan were beaten out by Wondo, who by Donovan’s own admission couldn’t be stopped in camp.

I don’t get why “he plays forward now” other than the fact that Klinsmann said it right before camp. But that has never been the case. In fact, it is one thing that bothers me the most. It just seems like Klinsmann pigeon-holed him as a forward in order to have a reason to leave him off the squad.

Donovan has played winger, central mid, withdrawn forward, striker and even center forward for the USMNT. He has played wherever he has bee asked o play. But JK pigeonholed him as a forward even though he shined as a withdrawn stiker, midfielder an winger in the gOLD CUP.

If you want to get rid, or eliminate a player you don’t want, you put him in a position he can play, but have a whole list of players ahead of him, who are marginally better so you can use the same excuses as JK. The fact is that LD would have been a far better pick that Julian Greene who will not see a minute in a WC match, unless the Us is blown out early.in a game

Donovan does not. He’s an attacking player, and one who likes to run the show…he is not a support guy.

I don’t see a conspiracy. I see Jurgen shifting up to a formation that features Dempsey and especially Michael Bradley, and gives a clearly-defined role (that being holding mid) to Jermaine Jones, which has been more than a bit of a problem in the past. Beckerman already plays in that formation at RSL.

The red flag is all those speedy winger/outside back hybrids Jurgen loaded up on, like Fabian Johnson, Damarcus Beasley, DeAndre Yedlin, even Chandler. They’re pacy guys with catch-up speed who can thunder forwards and generate width from the back…which, again, you need if you’re playing a diamond…and of course, if you’re playing a diamond, you’re also gunking up the middle and providing a lot of cover to your center backs, and ours are suspect. Jurgen knows this.

I don’t see a conspiracy, I see a coach trying to build a team to its strengths, and cover up its weaknesses…which is kind of what you want your head coach to do, you know?

I haven’t seen a time yet where Jurgen was playing to lose, and I very seriously doubt he just up and decided it was time to suck now.

Klinsmann is just being practical in is decision-making process. This isn’t personal. If it were then it would be more practical just to give Donovan the “cold-shoulder” treatment. It’s never easy to cut a legend like Donovan from the main squad for the main event and perhaps he made that decision a couple of months ago but just wanted to give him another chance to show him something exceptional like he did during the Gold Cup last summer. Obviously, in Brazil, you need to not only bring your best players but the best athletes and Donovan without is speed or fitness or his athleticism and willingness to take on defenders is not Donovan at all. In any other big Soccer nation the coach would have done the same.

Yeah right. Why on earth would Donovan play for this guy ever again? He just selected Julian F-ing Green ahead of him. Klinsman’s son made it clear. This is personal. As much of a class act as Donovan is, it would be utterly shocking to see him return to the program post World Cup to do what – help the third teamers qualify out of Antigua?

Thanks for all you’ve done, Landon. You’re an American hero. Good luck in the World Cup, USMNT – you’re gonna need it. And Klinsmann? You liar. You can go to hell.

My personal complaint about BB was how often his teams gave up an early goal and had to chase the game. Early goals against England and then Slovenia. Before that against Honduras, Costa Rica twice, El Salvador in the hex. His teams just didn’t seem prepared for the first 15 minutes. Yes, other than against Brazil in the Confed. final, BB teams played better in the second half. Yes, they stole points with comebacks against El Salvador and Costa Rica (bornstein cough) and Slovenia (actually they won but a stupid ref called a phantom foul on Edu’s goal), but why play like that if you don’t have to. Get a lead and dictate the game is much easier than having to chase a game and open yourself up to the counter.

Here here bro. Couldn’t have said it better. Klinnsman is a fraud and has to make it all about himself. How about him coming out and saying that his son was one of Donovan’s biggest fans. How many people buy that? Really is a liar. And as a human being not fit to carry Donovan’s cleats.

Kind of remembering now how all the Europeans told us that Klinsmann was a joke and we never should have hired him as manager. Couldn’t take Germany past third place in a World Cup on home soil! Germany!

How is third place bad? He took a young squad and for any country in the world getting into the semis is f****** good. My god people here are acting like getting third place in brazil is like getting third in the gold cup. F****** clueless

Oh yeah? How exactly? Are you gonna tell me third place is bad? Cause that would be incredibly stupid of you to say. Or should i say Klinsman should rot in hell because he made me cry by not taking my boy Donovan to the world cup? But i guess you already lost all credibility and showed your stupidity considering you just called Klinsmann a Nazi

“But Klinsmann won them over with his team’s exuberant, attacking style that pleased the fans and took Germany into the last four, way past early expectations.”

“The task now is to persuade coach Juergen Klinsmann to stay. Klinsmann has asked for time before giving a final answer, and is unlikely to make his decision known in the coming days. German soccer officials are urging for a quick reply, but are willing to give Klinsmann time to make up his mind.

“We’d like an early reply but it’s the wrong time to put pressure,” team manager Oliver Bierhoff said Wednesday.

Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder, co-president of the German soccer federation, said he hopes Klinsmann stays on.

“Klinsmann has been a stroke of luck for German soccer,” Mayer-Vorfelder said Wednesday. “He’s started a project and he should continue it.”

“He’s formed a young team that he trusts and that trusts him. It would be a terrible shame if we would go back to California,” Beckenbauer said. “He has to carry on this work. He has no choice.”

————-

The lies told about how Germans feel toward Jurgen Klinsmann have been spread by anti-Klinsmann xenophobes in the United States.

This was what was reported in USA Today Ralph, it was even reported in some German media. However, it was dead wrong. Just days before the world cup started German football were seriously considering sacking Klinsmann. Him going back home to California for a visit and sending his assistant to an important pre-cup meeting was the final straw.

It would have been wild, but they considered it. They sat down with Loew and then talked to Klinsmann. It was understood, Klinsmann would remain coach in name, but Loew would run the team and then Klinsmann would resign immediately after the world cup.

Thank you! Loew is the man behind responsible for Germany’s new fast, attacking… Under Loew, Germany has becomes arguably the world’s best national team.

On the other hands, Klinsmann was axed half way through his tenure at Bayern Munch. He managed to take a star studded Bayern squad out of Champion’s League contention. His league results were underwhelming the for the talent he had on the field. The press reported that he lost the locker room.

Then there is Klinsmann’s trusted assistant, Vasquez, who led Chivas USA to a new low in MLS.

If you compared the results in BL & UCL (points, BL place and getting to the UCL quarterfinal) of Klinsmann aera at Bayern with the results in Heynckes’s 1st year after the same couple of games you may realize that Heynckes did no better than Klinsmann.
The reason why Bayern and Klinsmann decided to go different ways was, that Bayern suddenly changed their minds of the before wanted restructure. Klinsmann needs free rein to do his work. That was also the reason why U.S. Soccer and Klinsmann couldn’t come to an agreement in 2006.
Most of those stories about Klinsmann were brought out by a German famous tabloid which has a very difficult relation with Klinsmann after he for good reasons excluded them from covering the German NT in WC 2006 and repeatedly proceeded against them. Many other magazines copied those put out stories and many people suddenly believed it.

I’m German and I can tell you you are absolutely wrong.
For DFB and German fans Klinsmann was the white knight and their hero after what he and his predominantly young team achieved in WC 2006.
DFB and fans wanted him to extend his contract, but it was him who denied because his own set target was to win that Championship.
(Enthusiastic reception of the German NT in Berlin after WC 2006: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi8MrDx_GPw ).

What doesn’t he lie about? He contradicts himself all the time. If u need examples you obviously haven’t followed the team much. Bob ley on espn even called him out on it today about Donovan being a forward and klinsman gave a bs answer.

Bob Ley asked if his lack of speed made him a candidate for a midfield role.

Klinsmann could have responded one of two ways. He could have stated the obvious–that Donovan lacks the fitness, stamina and most certainly lacks the defense, not to mention the fact that he would have to take over for either Bradley or Jones. That was literally never an option.

It was a really poor question from Ley–who to his credit realized that and didn’t push after Klinsmann took the other choice, the high road.

He’s a walking, talking hypocrite and that is patently obvious to anyone not swinging on his nuts.

The naivety, willful blindness, and non-stop spin of the Klinnsman apologists is hilarious. I can’t wait for your inevitable justifications of why Klinnsman should stay on board after we score 1 goal with 7 against in a month’s time.

This decision shows he has no clue and I have lost all faith we will do anything next month. It has total disaster written all over it, and this fiasco will have played a major role. That’s after me being more optimistic than 99% of fans up to this point.

It shouldn’t be. Even without Donovan this team has far more talent than we had back then. There’s no excuse for this team not being competitive in Brazil. I’m not saying they have to get out of the group but being doormats is not acceptable and shouldn’t be expected.

They were good compared to earlier teams – the ones pre-Caliguri that failed to qualify. They aren’t so good compared to the last few cycles, during which our pool of players became more skilled, more accomplished in club play and deeper. Hopefully a few cycles into the future we’ll see that development continuing.

C’mon. I would’ve selected LD over Davis, or Mix, or Wondo, but I am sitting at a computer in Virginia. I am not the coach. Relax man. Now go believing whatever you want to believe. You are a fan and so am I so we can cheer and yell or curse, stamp our feet, and pound sand as much as we want, so have at it. However to start a petition is hilarious. Good luck with that.

Have you promoted your petition in other forums? I admire your willingness to spring into action, but you had 4 signatures this morning, and now, roughly 6-7 hours later, you have 10. Now, I don’t plan on signing your petition, but you need to get the word out if you want to reach 100,000 signatures by (according to the website) June 22, the day we face Portugal. Shake a leg!

I don’t believe Klinnsmann when he says the decision was based on today. I think Klinnsmann has animosity towards Donovan for a few reasons. Klinnsmann wants players to play 11 months a year, give their best in training and to move to bigger clubs and bigger leagues. He resents Donovan for taking a sabatical and for spending his career in MLS.

I hope the team is more unified that the fans on this site. Here are some of my opinions, which probably aren’t worth too much since I was sure Donovan would be on the final 23.

– Donovan is not a very good wide player anymore. He struggled at the Gold Cup when played outside; when Klinsmann moved him inside, he dominated.

– No player on the current roster would have dominated the Gold Cup the way he did and there is no one on the team now that can match his 2010 form.

– When Klinsmann said he wasn’t competing for an outside half spot, that means that he wrote him off playing wide based on the Gold Cup (or he was lying ..)

– Donovan looked heavy and sluggish against Mexico.

– From the ESPN video, it looked like he hadn’t lost any weight when he came in to camp

– I don’t know a single player on the team or any of the coaches and don’t have any reason to dislike any of them. I think Dempsey kind of acts like a baby some times but I still root for him.

I’m disappointed but I’m still rooting for the US and I don’t want anyone to get injured (including players on Ghana, Portugal, Germany, or any other team). Maybe this will the post that pisses everybody off since I seem to both agree and disagree with both sides.

Okay, the cuts have been made,now the coaches and the 23 can form a team. We have 3 friendlies for them to do it, without a single player having to worry about making it to Brazil.

Now what. After all the training and friendlies most of the 23 will know what’s what. I am not sure if the world cup is different, but normally there are only 3 subs allowed, so that means 14 players may get to play in each game. So that means 9 won’t.

For me, It’s not what I think, or what anyone else thinks, it is what the 23 and their coaches see with their own eyes.

That’s right. JK chose the team he chose, based on a very lengthy and laborious multi-factorial analysis of what elements made up a TEAM of players he thinks have the best chance of gelling and coming together to play at a very high level, the world cup.
Move on.
Donovan didn’t fit in the puzzle. Dems da breaks. More patient and knowledgable people have posted very insightful and well reasoned analysis of why Donovan, logically,m
This team may exceed all expectations. We don’t know yet what the sum total of the parts will be. In the beats of all worlds, the end product will be about how the end product exceeds the um of the parts. I am excited and looking forward to what we will do in Brazil.

What many of you don’t want to realize is that this team is doomed. Not only did Klinsmann leave Landon out. But it has now been proven based on his son twitter post that it was for personal motivations. To a lot of us that is a sign of disrespect to US soccer when we gave Klinsmann the warmest welcome. He just simply did the unthinkable: left Landon out of the squad to make room for players that have done nothing to deserve even being in the training camp. Now, if this is not a huge negative distraction before the QWC, and with those powerhouses lining up to take three from us, this only spells disaster for USMNT ala 1998 WC.

You are waaay to emotional about this dude. Chill, drink a capri and take a nap.

Just to put it in perspective, if you are the coach of a team that is trying to break into the elite of the world in 2010 was it? who would you call on? Yes, I bet most would say LD #1 on the the list.

Conversation:

JK: hey Landon I would love to have you camp soon.

LD: uhh, maybe. Im kinda stressed out. This whole thing about playing a game for a profession is really getting cumbersome. I thinking Cambodia!!

JK: You will have time for that when you retire. The guys really look up to you Landon. Cmon do me a solid. At least try to go on loan to a team in Europe.

My guess is that Donovan’s omission was a bit of theater. The fans expected it, Landon wanted no part of another WC, MLS bosses an Klinsman agreed that cutting him after a mock camp would be the best way to placate the fans and sponsors. Landon went along for the same reasons. In sum, Kabuki hall of fame!

There’s a very good article on cnnsi.com http://soccer.si.com/2014/05/22/landon-donovan-jurgen-klinsmann-world-cup-usa-roster-gamble/ It’s worth the read. In my opinion I think JK had made up his mind a long time ago he wasn’t going to take Donovan to the WC. JK listed Donovan has a forward for this selection process but through qualifying he’s played him at midfield. While the Galaxy list Donovan as a forward they also play him in the midfield. He also did very well playing for Everton on two short loan spells where he also played as a midfielder.

The above being the case JK could have taken him as a midfielder. Even using him off the bench he’s a better option than Brad Davis. A lot of posts talk about Donovan loosing a step, can someone tell me how much faster Brad Davis is over Donovan. Or how much better technical ability Brad Davis has over Donovan. Brad Davis has looked slow and out of place in every international match I’ve seen him play. I’ve also read on several posts that Brad Davis is great on set pieces. So is JK taking Brad Davis on the possibility he’s in the game at just the time he’s needed for a free kick with his left foot.

Another point on not selecting Donovan as a forward that I wonder is how is that Julian Green a player who has only played for a few minutes for his club team was selected over Donovan. Speed or not there is no one that can tell me he’s a better player and his experience will be better utilized than Donovan’s. Why was Julian Green selected over Donovan? How does a player with just a few minutes of playing time for his club team get selected over a player like Donovan.

And to the critics of Donovan’s sabbatical, so what if he took the time off. He knew he couldn’t give the USMNT or his club team 100% at the time. He was burnt out. He’d been playing almost non-stop for almost 12 years, http://articles.latimes.com/2013/sep/05/sports/la-sp-landon-donovan-20130906. When Donovan came back he was fresh mentally and physically. And what he did after he came back was he led the USMNT to a Gold Cup victory. B team or not playing against other B teams or not Donovan was playing against the teams in front of him. And Donovan was playing with the team JK had selected and coached through the Gold Cup. Donovan was the one that led this team and gave JK and U.S.Soccer the silverware for winning the tournament.

Donovan took the time off because he needed it. And Klinnsman extracted a penance from him for doing so. That started with the Gold Cup.

Donovan did everything JK asked of him and deserves to be on the 23 man team going to the WC.There are a lot of Donovan haters out there who will disagree with me. Personally I think it’s time for Donovan to retire from international play. He stands nothing to gain by continuing to play for the U.S. It’s time for Donovan to walk away from U.S.Soccer and dedicate himself to his club team. Why make himself available to JK to play in some meaningless friendly knowing he will never see the field again for a game that matters to the U.S.

And some of the blame for Donovan not making the WC team needs to go to U.S.Soccer for extending Klinsmann’s contract through 2018. That had have given JK the comfort of selecting players for the future instead of a team for today.

please do not attempt to reason with knucklehead JK fanboys who think US soccer started in 2010 or 2006….these people know simple truths: 1) JK is foreign so he must be good and a perfect decision maker to boot, 2) he won a World Cup as a player, therefore he is superior in every decision to anything an American can do, 3) if JK makes a decision, they, as his fanboys must defend every single one, even when simple logic is contradictory, 4) LD is not as good as he once was so he must stay home, durrrrr.

Why bother pointing out that a) LD is superior to Brad Davis in anything Brad Davis is good at and bad at TODAY…b) LD has created BY FAR the most scoring chances of any US player over the past two years-see the fivethirtyeight.com article…c) LD’s effort on the field does not differ from fall over boy Dempsey or Joggin’ Jozy d) Bedoya makes nifty moves and goes nowhere, e) Wondo can’t cut it in the Hex, let alone group of Death…. f) Green is green and g) whatever “lack of heart” Donovan could be accused of, please see Timmy Chandler….

one thing JK has consistently done is refuse to field the best team, he has tied his hands behind his back by selecting injured left and right backs for rosters, only to have to play people in emergency spots when he injured players turned out-injured-this was done to “test” them-helluva a lot of good that did for Brad Evans-why not play a true RB there all along?… he left Bradley off the early rosters, despite him being the best US MF for the past six years… he messed around with LD even before his sabbatical… Jozy too (although to JK’s credit he was spot on about the massive step up in Eredivise to EPL and how Jozy’s goals won’t translate to that level-give due where he earned it)

JK is a clown who was run out of Bayern-fanboys see all the press around that before opening you pinholes and Gulati’s h@rd on for him has lasted all these years… and now JK by selecting a weak roster into a tough group will have an easy excuse to go along with that unnecessary extension… I only hope Sunil gets booted so someone can hire a competent coach with a competent tactician and not this whoopety too yo yo with a fickle attitude

+ 1,000,000 Correct on all points. Klinsmann is an egotistical tool and seems to be doing all he can to ensure that the Fatherland advances from Group G and that the USMNT crashes and burns. Perhaps Klinsmann also was not able to forgive Donovan for that fake German accent Donovan did a few months ago on TV making fun of Jermaine Jones bragging about his Champions League experience.

Tim Howard said two weeks ago: “For me, it’s a very easy equation: If he’s on the field, he’s our top one or two players, That’s just my opinion. Whether that means anything or not, I don’t know. Landon’s humble and I’m sure he feels that way, but for me he’s easily one of our best players and he strikes fear in opponents.”

Bruce Arena said one week ago: “If there are 23 better players than Landon, then we have a chance to win the World Cup.”

Wrong decision by Klinsmann. You just don’t leave an American soccer icon with a proven record from the WC roster even if he’s not playing at his best. Bring him off the bench if you have to. Wrong, wrong, wrong…

Klinsmann is (or was) a better player than Bradley, Donovan, Adu, Davis and Green combined. Also considering that Bob Bradley has never taken a team to the semifinal of the world cup, I hope this is a rhetorical question.

I suppose that I could stomach the youth excuse if Brad Davis and Wondo hadn’t been selected. I mean if we’re gonna go all youth why isn’t Terrence Boyd on the plane? I don’t have a real problem with any of the selections except for Brad Davis, he offers very little value other than dead ball service. However, that only really makes him a viable sub in the last minute or extra time because, like Donovan apparently, speed is an issue.

We’ll just have to wait and see what Klinsmann is thinking, I agree, I’m having trouble putting it together at the moment. Also I don’t care if Wondo is scoring at will in training. The question on Wondo has never been if he can score goals but if he can do it in the big moments.

I’ve read numerous articles and opinion pieces about Donovan’s omission in the last 24 hours. I think many make good points about the rationale for dropping Donovan based on his current form, lack of fitness, and diminished speed. But no one has convinced me yet that one or two of the players picked ahead of him were deserving of being selected ahead of Donovan. And that really is the crux of the problem.

I don’t buy the line he was only competing for a forward spot. There’s no question that he could play as a late game sub in multiple positions. That being the case, it remains to be seen how much pressure Davis and Green are going to feel based on this decision. I think Davis is just happy to be selected at age 32, and probably won’t see the field. But Green is a teenager, and the spotlight is on this unproven, untested youngster based on JK’s decision. If he sees the field, his play will be heavily scrutinized. If he underperforms, there will be legitimate questions about whether a deal was made based on his switch. This could blow up into a media circus.

My theory is that the cut is not just about Donovan. Nor do I think there is personal animosity between JK and LD. I think it’s about professional differences and I don’t think JK thinks it’s personal. Maybe Donovan does but there is history regarding the professional aspect.

IMO JK wanted Donovan to test himself and Donovan was unwilling to do this. He chose to stay w/ LA rather than go to the EPL, Bundeslega,etc. He passed on some friendlies (although in fairness, I think they were a week before MLS Cup and LA was in the final), he went on sabbatical, he showed up fat and out of form for the Mexico game, he can’t train hard for 12 straight days. Just because he is the all-time scorer for the Nats doesn’t entitle him to a spot on the roster.

Eddie Johnson failed to make the first cut because he had no goals this season. Donovan was scoreless too. But I think his inability to train, and to train hard while everyone else was going full tilt was the final straw. Maybe JK was planning on bringing him but cut him because in his opinion Donovan was not respecting his teammates by not training hard and was expecting to get a spot based on the past. The Federation hired Juergen to take a sledge hammer to the past and forge new ground and make the US a world power. If that means getting rid of Donovan, so be it. Mind you, I am a huge Donovan fan but I was disappointed by his statements about training and holding back to pace himself. Klinsmann thinks Donovan is too comfortable and I agree. He’s not willing to sacrifice to make himself and his team better and that’s the ultimate reason why he got cut. It was not personal.

you had better listen to Big head red head. They speak to many of the reasons you give. And they d not agree with you. Bet you didn’t know that JK told Twellman the bridge between he and LD was burned back when they were in Italy for the Italy game. That was maybe a year ago. Why would he lead LD on for so long? You probably have no idea about the 2nd tweet from JK’s son. Not the HAHAHAHA tweet. The tweet where he tells LD that other players were chosen because they would work harder than him. (Wonder where that mind set came from) Also they speak about the fact that LD came into camp in shape and performed very well. But I am sure you don’t want to hear this because it would mean you are wrong.

I believe that JK wants total commitment to soccer by his player. I saw Landon in the US v MEX fame and he didn’t have the old Landon speed or skill (come on, we all get older and can’t do what we once did).

Donovan still looked out of shape (only player with a waist as big as his chest) from the videos at camp. If a player isn’t fully physically and mentally prepared to devote 100% to the game, then for JK, he’s gone.

And just because you no longer want to have soccer be you total life, then that’s ok, too. Donovan’s legacy to US soccer is a tribute to when soccer was his life.

SCSM, Funny typically you would be in favor of LD, but you are not?, and typically you are perpetuating the stereotype of what many rightfully or wrongfully consider a soccer mom to be. Some kind of cheerleader.
I would say you are somebodies rather confused soccer mom.
News flash TODAY!, Landon Donovan, scored two goals and added an assist for the LA Galaxy,(being in SOCAL, I thought you may be interested to know. God love you lady…

You can say what you want about Donovan, I’d be inclined to agree that there is some issue with his play right now.

But nobody could ever change my opinion on the players that made the team while Donovan was tossed away. Green? A child who has no top flight experience and one sub appearance for our national team. Chandler? A guy who had some fake fear of flying and abandoned us during qualifying. Brooks? A guy who didn’t play in qualifying, and got destroyed in a friendly appearance.

THIS is who gets to go to the World Cup while Donovan doesn’t? That is the hard thing to swallow here. And it absolutely is suspicious….

Based on a few things, I think the deletion of Donovan from the WC squad is a HUGE mistake. Let’s compare Donovan with Altidore, if Klinsmann wants to consider Donovan a forward. In 2013, Jozy’s form has been anemic…30 appearance for a lowly Sunderland side with 1 goal. Conversely, in 2013 Donovan had 22 appearances for the Galaxy, and 21 goals. In 2014 so far, Donovan has 7 appearances for the Galaxy and 7 goals. Donovan also has an enormous amount of experience and clutch play in WC’s. He’s a seasoned, veteran player in the MNT pool to which other guys look up. Aside from his proven skill, his potential benefits in Brazil in terms of experience and leadership are intangible, and hard to measure. I hope the decision doesn’t backfire…If we’re down to any team in our group, and desperately need a goals, I KNOW who I want on the field, and it isn’t Jozy Altidore or Chris Wondolowski.

Ok, ok, I screwed up and looked at the stat column wrong. Still though, in his last 30 club games he has 12 goals, and Altidore has 1. Late in a must win Ghana game that’s tied, I want Donovan on the field over ANY other striker that was selected.

you know it’s too bad that know nothing, win nothing Phil Jackson let that slacker Michael Jordan back on the playoff roster after taking over a year off… if he had only followed JK’s lead, and taken Pete Myers and JoJo English, who know how many championships the Bulls would have won!

Man, I still haven’t gotten over this. It feels like Donavan died. Has anyone seen the May 22nd locker room video on ESPN the first time the 23 are together after the announcement was made. They look kinda down and in shock. I think the timing of this was all wrong. This can’t be good for the morale in the dressing room.

This feels like a loss in the family. I love this game though it seems the expansive league schedules and layers of competitions exact huge tolls on these elite athletes. It seems apparent that Landon needed both a physical & emotional break to regather himself & make his last run at a World Cup (granted his timing was really unfortunate corresponding to the qualifiers). I do hope Landon gets the first call in the event of injury and gets a last hurrah on this immense stage.

Whether or not JK has something personal against Donovan, it seems the German coach used the excuse that Landon isn’t in top shape to play for the USMNT at the World Cup. Therefore, the baby has been thrown out with the bath water by a hyper autocrat (this isn’t the result of USSF influence).
JK to use another cliche but also a pun, has shot himself in the foot. He’s even a better sub (how would that have altered either the team or Landon’s attitude as so may posters believe?) than Davis,
Yedlin, Diskerud or Green–definitely.
Donovan isn’t an alternate after what’s happened. His words of loyalty aren’t genuine. I would never play for JK again, would you?

It’s not just about speed. It’s about vision and the ability to make the key pass. And, I’m sorry I’d still take Donovan over any other player on the field. Over 90 minutes he makes key contributions and his experience should still be considered an asset. A Donovan a step off is still a player as fast as most of your players. And, you want a guy as seasoned and gifted as him on the team.

If you are less excited about a World Cup without Donovan then email US Soccer. Let them know. Donovan still has a lot of commercial appeal as well. I kind of am still pretty unexpired about the rest of the lads, with one or two exceptions. This team doesn’t really excite me much.

Klinsmann was supposedly brought in because he understands the American player. With this decision, he clearly does not understand the US fan. If the decision comes down to American soccer deity (he is the closest US soccer has to a household name) versus Take your pick: totally inexperienced Julian Green, or Old, slow and one dimensional world cup rookies Brad Davis and Chris Wondowlowski, Not one single player or US soccer fan would hold it against Klinsmann for selecting Donovan over any of those dudes. Not one. Even if Donovan is NOT what he once was, it does not mean those guys are better choices today.

I think this was a message about control. Klinsmann wants guys who are going to toe the line, and he got them in Beckerman, Wondo and Davis. It would be a shame if he brings them at Donovan’s expense, only to sit the bench. I mean, if you’re bringing Beasley, why not Donovan? Let them finish out their trailblazing ride together?

Fan’s don’t pay JK’s salary. What would everyone say if Donovan had a crappy World Cup? Blame the coach for taking LD? Yes, I agree JK wants guys to ‘toe the line’ – i.e. be 100% physically, mentally and emotionally committed to the game.

US Soccer JK to ring out the old and ring in the new, and unfortunately, that means some of the old guard has to go. You can’t take anyone for what they have already accomplished or for ‘old time sakes’.

SCSM, Funny typically you would be in favor of LD, but you are not?, and typically you are perpetuating the stereotype of what many rightfully or wrongfully consider a soccer mom to be. Some kind of cheerleader.
I would say you are somebodies rather confused soccer mom.
News flash TODAY!, Landon Donovan, scored two goals and added an assist for the LA Galaxy,(being in SOCAL, I thought you may be interested to know. God love you lady and sidekick Ann.

HOLD THE PRESSES,
Twellman says that JK told him the bridge between him and LD was burned long ago. JK told Twellman that when the US played Italy in Italy. Also, Twellman reveals that JK’s son posted a 2nd tweet. Not the HAHAHAHAHA tweet. Rather the one where JK’s son tells LD that another unnamed player made the team because he would wok harder for it. Where does the kid get that idea from? HMMMMMhttp://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=10977094

It could be as simple as the fact that the coaching staff doesn’t see Donovan helping the team. I went to the Whitecaps v Galaxy game a couple of weeks ago. I left feeling really uneasy about Donovan after the game. It is clear he has lost more than a step of the explosiveness he once had. He looked a bit over weight and other than having a great chemistry with Robbie Keane, really showed nothing special that day. After the game, I was a little depressed about our chances thinking he is no longer a dominant player at this level; what could he do against a fast and dynamic team like Ghana; and, a technically sound and physically imposing team like Germany?

Personally what I took from Donovan’s comments saying he can’t train 12 days in a row and have 12 great days. He was saying “just trust me I can still turn it on when it counts”. However when it came down to it Klinsmann didn’t trust him. Perhaps when Klinsmann looked at his team he decided it was better to take a player in Davis who isn’t as good but just knows his role. I guess we’ll just have to see how it all plays out.

Such a large sample size including 2 different 3 and out World Cups. Also, he didn’t score against Portugal in 02. Heck, since 94 we’ve only won 3 games, Portugal, Mexico in 02 and Algeria in 10. Bad internetting dude. I bet someone has already posted this since I just looked through all of these. Donovan didn’t even score in 06, only Dempsey did. Donovan’s great but let’s complain after the World Cup, it’s not like we’re a powerhouse and only 3 games are assured. Such negativity on the internetz.

Thanks for that note – and Donovan scored too, ha ha. JK’s decision is clearly personal – and bad. It’s created a huge distraction for the WC, probably what JK wants facing the prospects ahead. Too bad, cause we’re going to play our hearts out no matter what the bosses do.

Anyone who watches the game objectively will understand the simple truths that follow (Landycakes fanboys probably should just stop reading here):

– Landon no longer has the physical tools to play on the wing, especially in the way Klinsmann wants his wingers to play. He can’t regularly cross the ball worth a damn, and his biggest weapon, his pace, is not what it once was. That’s why Klinsmann said Donovan is considered a forward, not a midfielder.

– I’ve been saying this for the past few years, but Donovan and Dempsey cannot play on the field together at the same time because they play the same position, the withdrawn forward/central attacking midfielder role (the latter being in middle of the three in the 4-2-3-1 formation). That’s the role Donovan excelled at against the crap teams in last year’s Gold Cup.

– Given where Donovan’s best position is, consider the options there: Dempsey, Johansson, Diskerud are all ahead of him. You’re not going to take four guys to play one position, and you’re especially not going to take the fourth guy who doesn’t see himself as the fourth man and will likely cause a disruption in the locker room because he doesn’t understand his role.

– For all the gripes about young players, Donovan was never in direct competition with them. He doesn’t play the same position as Brooks or Yedlin or even Green, for that matter. So to say they got a spot at his expense is a total fallacy – they bumped out other players, perhaps (Brooks/Goodson, Yedlin/Parkhurst, Green/Corona) but not Donovan.

And finally, for those who claim that Donovan “deserves” a final sendoff, that’s what the Gold Cup was. This isn’t the 2013 Yankees where every opponent is going to give him a rocking chair and a set of golf clubs (a la Mariano Rivera) – there’s far better players from far better countries who aren’t nearly as old who have been left at home as well.

I just hope the idiots in San Francisco don’t make a scene on Tuesday night by having signs and whatnot calling for Landon’s inclusion. Like it or not, Klinsmann made his selection, it’s time to get behind the 23.

Did you read the comment that started this? “That might become a distraction at camp.” That’s not “just being happy for the guy,” that’s attempting to turn his performance tonight into some larger message—a message that cuts both ways.

The Goose, nice to meet you,
how are you?,
this is the Garrincha.
all LD’s performance tonight did was reaffirm what most people already knew, and that is that Donovan, still has plenty left in the tank to be a great option coming off the bench.

Parabens, meu passarinho! You see the real meaning of LD’s performance tonight: he’s a great player. I’ve always felt so myself.

But that wasn’t the point of the pretend “Landon Donovan’s” comment. That point was to say that LD’s performance tonight holds any relevance to the WC roster or should generate some doubts or shake-up. Nonsense! Being “a great option” doesn’t make him the only option or the best option.

The Goose,
LD, is a tried, true, proven effective and impact rich option.
To have the all time US, and MLS, goal scorer as one of several options off the bench isn’t a bad thing.
one does not necessarily preclude the other..

Very true Pirithous.
Two months ago He looked like Poppin’ Fresh the Pillsbury Doughboy.
I thought coming into camp now, he looked more chiseled and much stronger.
The kind of power I always thought he could use.
an extra 10 pounds of muscle.
He may have lost half a step but now he has more strength to go
with that experience.

Hey beachbum, if you were serious about wanting the joke explained, here you go: I mocked TheFrenchOne’s comment for 1) its overly literal interpretation of “today,” and 2) its selective choice of the various parameters a coach uses to select a roster: form, attitude, chemistry, communication, position, tactics, fitness, commitment, training camp, match-day…umm, did I miss any? Probably, because there are so many.

When a coach responds to questions from the media, we should expect answers that aren’t concrete—to list specifics would almost always be taken as a betrayal. In this case, Klinsmann said it was a very tough decision and LD was very close—presumably, better in some parameters and lesser in others who made the final cut.

To focus on only one parameter is absurd, so I parodied the absurdity. Hahaha, hehehee.

Klinsmann is a genius. He has gifted this country with a storyline heading into the World Cup, when before the biggest story leading up to the tournament was whether or not the USA would finish 3rd or 4th in the group.

Now, whether you support the decision or not, you care about how the US does in the World Cup and the players know it.

JK quite plainly has no respect for LD. He shrunk from the chance JK gave him at Bayern and since made it clear his passion for the sport had dwindled and he was now merely “a professional”.

LD had his chances and now its someone else’s turn. Get behind the players on the plane or take the summer to watch your 5th rate MLS games.

Good chance that will happen. I just hope it isn’t LD. Don’t think he would be a good coach.. A former US player would be cool though. Could be Reyna, he was always a bit odd though. I’d prefer Boca as a personality. Mcbride has a calm demeanor and seems pretty sharp, wonder if he has any coaching desire.

Intended or not intended consequence:
All the pressure and focus is on Klinsmann and not the players. Mourinho does this all the time. I wouldnt be surprised if Klinsmann says something really truly bizarre closer to games too to where focus is on him. About Germany maybe. Gets everyone talking about that.

The more I look at this roster, and the decisions, the more I’m bothered by the German preference. In the end, these selections reek of favoritism toward German players. Whether intentional or not, it’s really quite sad. If it comes down to two players, it’s clearly weighted in favor of Germans, easily by 20%.

Either way, one look at ussoccer.com, which is God awful BTW, and it’s clear that this world cup is about Klinsmann, not our beloved squad. That’s unfortunate. I hate JK. Wishing our boys the best, but I hope he’s out come August. People are giving him too much credit, and not the progression of soccer in the US. Give credit to MLS above Klinsmann, that’s where the real progress is. So he’s got more talent to choose from than we’ve ever had in the past- all he’d done up until this point was not screw it up too badly. The team rallied around themselves in March and haven’t looked back. Hopefully they can keep it going through the WC, and his recent moves have restirred the fire in them to do well in spite of him.

Klinsmann deserves ZERO credit for the successes of the US National team beacuse it was Bob Bradley (best US soccer coach ever) who built the team. And his decision to cut Donovan shows what an incompetent fool he is. His decision to cut Donovan, the best player the USA has ever produced, was clearly personal and not in the best interest of the team.